Tom Cottam

Associate Professor

School: Newcastle Business School

Dr. Ed Cottam is part of the faculty senior education leadership team at Northumbria University. He holds a PhD from an AACSB and EPAS accredited university and has won 11 competitive grants since 2016. Ed's research interests include entrepreneurship, digitization, networks, and sustainability. His work was recently published in Entrepreneurship and Regional Development and European Management Review.

Dr. Ed Cottam is the director of the Business Clinic, a multi-award-winning management consultancy. In this capacity he has overseen 700+ projects and generated over £3.8 million worth of consultancy work. Past clients include Nissan, Proctor and Gamble, Akzo Nobel and UNESCO. The British Academy of Management Education Practice Awards acknowledged these achievements in 2017 by giving the Business Clinic a 'Highly Commended' award. The Business Clinic also won a Teaching Excellence Award in 2018 and a 'Highly Commended' award from the Enterprise Educators (2021). Furthermore, the Business Clinic was featured in the Chartered Association of Business Schools taskforce report 'Business Schools and the Public Good' (2021). Ed has helped establish Business Clinics in London, Amsterdam and Doha. Furthermore, he co-led a team of 8 academic and administrative staff on a 2021 REF case study investigating the impact of Business Clinic consultancy on SME clients' productivity (3-4* rated).

Email Tom

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Antecedents of user co-creation on transactional two-sided digital platforms and their impact on brand love: an affordance perspective, Lin, Z., Foroudi, P., Cottam, E., Lengler, J. 17 Jun 2026, In: Internet Research
Profiling self-employed women in the wellness tourism industry: Through the lens of entrepreneurial orientation and psychological empowerment, Kromidha, E., Hosany, S., Deesilatham, S., Cottam, E. 3 Oct 2026, In: Journal of Sustainable Tourism
Advising elite performers: the role of intuition, trust and expertise, Cottam, E., Jha, P. 24 Feb 2025, In: Management Decision
Where Learning Meets the Real World: Educating with Impact Through Entrepreneurial Practice, Gadelshina, G., Cottam, E., Dutson, R., Valencia, A. Sep 2025, 11th Teaching Innovation & Entrepreneurship Excellence Awards 2025, Reading, Academic Conferences International Limited
Embeddedness of Inter‐firm Ties and Knowledge Creation†, Jha, P., Cottam, E. 1 Sep 2021, In: European Management Review
International networking and knowledge acquisition of Chinese SMEs: The role of global mind-set and international entrepreneurial orientation, Lin, Z., Cao, X., Cottam, T. 26 May 2020, In: Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
The Digitally Enabled Business Clinic: Final Report, Coates, N., Cottam, E. 1 Jul 2019
The Digitally Enabled Business Clinic: A How-To Guide, Cottam, E., Coates, N. 1 Jul 2019
Enhancing user wellbeing in augmented reality mHealth apps: The role of TAM and continuance, Cottam, E. 28 Jun 2018, British Council - NSFC Newton Researcher Links Workshop on Health and Well-being through VR and AR
Smart tourism technology continuance, perceived value and resident wellbeing, Cottam, E., Lin, Z. Sep 2018, Inclusive Innovation for Enhanced Local Experience in Tourism, Inclusive Innovation in Tourism

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Hosting an academic visitor: Prof Andrezj Jazinski 2019
Consultancy: AKZO NOBEL Research Project 2018
Consultancy: UNESCO Consultancy 2018
Consultancy: Greggs Market Research Project 2016

PGR Supervision

Jeremiah Okorie 'Should we consider those, sir?' Exploring How Non-Management Practitioners' Perceptions of Strategy Shape Strategic Success in Micro-Organisations. Start Date: 27/09/2021
Matthew Boyd How are effective consultancy relationships established?: a study involving UK Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. Start Date: 01/10/2020 End Date: 17/10/2025
Matthew Boyd How are effective consultancy relationships established?: a study involving UK Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. Start Date: 01/10/2020
Jeremiah Okorie 'Should we consider those, sir?' Exploring How Non-Management Practitioners' Perceptions of Strategy Shape Strategic Success in Micro-Organisations. Start Date: 27/09/2021 End Date: 17/10/2025